How I Made my First $1,000

I made my first million well before my twenties….too bad it was in Zimbabwean dollars

Part of me doesn’t want to talk about money on this blog until I start making my millions in US dollars. There’s only one problem. When that happens, I probably won’t feel comfortable blabbing about it online. I just don’t do things that way.

A happy compromise is to share some of my humble beginnings.

You don’t have to go broke in the name of doing what you love. My hope is that you will take bits and pieces of this post and apply it to whatever project you’re working on.

How I Make Money from Beta Motivation (in general)

Contract Training:
Companies develop messages that they want to share. Then they hire me as a presenter to communicate their various messages to their audiences. I like it. the way speaking makes me feel

Public Speaking:
Event organizers hire me to speak at their conferences, luncheons, and special events. My topics used to be really motivational until I discovered that I’m actually a grumpy person deep down inside. These days, I’m more focused on helping entrepreneurs and tiny businesses develop the confidence and tools to build strong businesses. I love it.

Good Gifts:
Did you know that my sister is a top 10 Fashion Designer in Canada? I can’t even come close to comparing myself with her. This store right here is probably the closest I’ll ever come to using my artistic side. Checkitout. Make me happy. Buy something.

In a nutshell, that’s what I currently do to stay out of the garri and ramen noodle club. For the specifics on what I did to go from zero to my first 1000 US dollars, read on.

1. What I did to My Friends and Family

Beta Motivation started off as a secret. I needed to block out everybody else’s voice so that I could listen to mine. I needed to listen to my gut first before asking for advice. I didn’t realize how risky this approach was until I tried to be secretive about another business I started. It got off the ground, crashed, and burned within the space of 8 months. It’s always a risk to start off without any direct mentorship or advice but, thankfully, it worked for Beta Motivation.

Bottom Line: Sometimes you need to give yourself space to think through your ideas. Separate what you want from what everybody else thinks you should want. tweet this.

2. What I did to Clients

I value my business relationships and I’m very serious about keeping my word. If I agreed to follow up with someone in two weeks, I followed up in two weeks. From the outside, it looked like persistence. To me, I was merely doing what I said I would do. It paid off then. Still pays off now. Be diligent about keeping your word. Be responsible about following up with the right contacts.

Notice that I said “the right contacts”. A huge part of growing Beta Motivation has come from meeting the right people. Unless your work is purely technical, you need people. Not just pixels on Facebook and Twitter–actual people.

3. What I did to Myself

I knew only one thing when I started Beta Motivation: when I stand in front of a room to talk, people listen. I took this knowledge and tried many different things with it.

I presented at lunch meetings, club meetings, fairs, webinars, training sessions, and pretty much anywhere that would take a chance on me. One time, I had to address an audience while they were eating lunch. Up until that day, I’d never thought that I’d be in competition with steak and mashed potatoes.

It’s one thing to read advice on the internet. It’s something completely different to experience these things first hand.

You might think that your destiny is to be a tech guru, a PR maven or fashion icon. Don’t just sit there reading blogs and tweeting stuff. Get out there and try to be a tech guru, a PR maven or fashion icon.

Bottom Line: The best dreams are based on chunks of reality. Don’t be afraid to try out different things related to your core strengths. tweet this.

That’s All? Stop it, Kola!

I did many other things to earn my first $1000 from Beta Motivation. But if I had to pick the top 3, it would be the ones in this post.

On a cautionary note, I hope this post doesn’t deceive anyone into thinking that I’m replacing my toilet paper with $100 bills and driving fancy cars. I’m not. I don’t. All I want you to see is that if I can make money from doing what I love, you can do the same. Now, put down the garri and step away from the ramen!